The Makerista
The laundry room. YIKES. Did that give you an anxiety spike? With everyone home, chances are your laundry is piling up miles high and you feel like you can’t keep up. Am I close? I’m a big believer in what Ruth Chou Simons (of Gracelaced) always says, “Learn to love what must be done”, and I think we can improve our situations through improving our spaces. I’ve written before about how interior design affects your mood, and why your home office design matters to your mind, and I really believe that by getting creative, you can improve your experience. Thanks to The Makerista, we can get bold laundry room inspiration for days and days. Let’s learn to love what must be done, starting with the laundry.
I’ve been a long time follower of The Makerista and I think everything Gwen does is magic. She describes herself as “a modern traditionalist who isn’t afraid of color” and I first started following her for her beautifully layered interiors filled with thrift store finds! There’s even a hashtag on instagram #thriftlikethemakerista and Gwen’s latest endeavor #thriftwiththemakerista in which she digitally takes you along her thrifting journeys and teaches you how to find all the quality gems. She’s the one who inspired me to start thrifting, and man, did I find some furniture and decor pieces that I can’t imagine my home without.
Get a Bold Laundry Room with The Makerista
Gwen embodies bold choices mixed with softer elements, with a healthy side of vintage and thrift store finds. Her rooms have so much soul that you can feel through your screen. That’s what happens when you start adding loved items from decades past! You end up with a delightful mix of high and low items, history, texture, and heirloom quality pieces that will last for decades to come. I love a good modern traditional space for precisely this reason. I’ve even written about how special it is to let items age naturally and the depth and soul it adds to your home.
I’ll be showing you Gwen’s laundry room including some really special details that really set the space apart. In true Makerista fashion, the space is filled with special understated vintage treasures that elevate the laundry room and make it a space to enjoy being in.
Without further adieu, let’s see the laundry room! For context and so you can see the extent of this transformation, here’s the before:
All images courtesy of The Makerista. For Gwen’s full reveal, hop on over to her post.
I don’t think they touched the laundry room since they moved in either. Gwen would say she just didn’t like being in there, which obviously made laundry more of an unwelcome chore. But now, it’s a dream. Let’s check the after:
See! A laundry room can be amazing and a space you actually want to use. This bold laundry room is so well designed and is a perfect blend of function and style. The repetition of the toile on the walls and the drum shade makes this space look like it could belong in the English countryside. Gwen even reused the extra tiles she had from her kitchen renovation in this space as well as her daughters’ bathroom (which I wrote about here). You know I’m a big believer in using what you have and updating your home for free, so I love this choice. Let’s check out some more details.
Amazing, right? It’s the perfect example of a refined minimalist interior with maximum impact and character. In this bold laundry room, Gwen repeats the amber color in her supplies and accent pieces. And what color is close to amber on the color wheel? ORANGE. This was such a good design decision because you get the impact of two complementary colors (blue and orange) but in an elevated and softer way. Using amber glasses is also a great way to add some vintage charm and old apothecary vibes in any space.
Now it’s your turn! What could you do to make your laundry room more personalized and beautiful? How can you thrive in it? Do you have leftover paint that you could give the cabinets a makeover? What about changing the hardware to a new set of knobs? Do you also have a drum shade you could cover in fabric or wallpaper? How can you build a better space for yourself allowing you to learn to love what must be done? Whatever your idea is, do it; you’re worth it.
I hope Gwen’s bold laundry room gave you some inspiration, or at the very least, showed you that even the utility spaces of the home deserve to be beautiful:-) Happy quarantining! I encourage you to look around your home (if you have the time!), and see what areas speak to you for some sprucing up. Even adding a single piece of art or a new runner make a huge difference in the room’s energy. Let’s bring life to our laundry rooms!
PS: I am also SO mindful of the plight of families now in our current climate. You’re probably overwhelmed as it is! In no way am I suggesting that you must take on a complete renovation, nor should you feel bad about the current state of your laundry room. My philosophy is that design is self care. When you address your own needs, even in the smallest of ways, it helps you out. Even buying some woven baskets from Amazon and a refillable detergent bottle is a great way to show yourself that every space you use can be special, and by loving your space, you’re also loving yourself. Stay safe, friends. Take time for some self care…even if it’s only 2 minutes:-)
-Kristen
